USA Network’s Psych is on my DVR. The show about a fake psychic and his sidekick is harmless fun and a good way to unwind from office stresses on Friday (it’s back to back with Monk, which may explain why I’m a loyal viewer). This week featured an episode with a Bollywood twist and was heavily promoted throughout the week. I ended up watching it with my teenage son last night.

There’s good news and bad news. The bad news is that for some reason, Bollywood, once a simple term to describe the Hindi movie industry, has now got conflated with the entire idea of Indian culture. I’m sure we have no one to blame but ourselves, given that the songs and dances are captivating and instantly identifiable. Also, to many second generation Indians like my children, Bollywood is Indian culture (okay, maybe Diwali as well). It’s not surprising that when they end up as consultants on TV shows, that’s what they bring to the table. The theme song for yesterday’s show is an execrable mix of sitar and bhangra, but my son was quite bowled over. “My goodness, that is Indian,” was his response, and he was quite delighted.

The writers also find themselves unable to avoid the cliches of the crotchety granny (Bollywood Hero, anyone) and the spicy Indian food, and of course, there’s the inevitable dance number thrown in. The entire premise of the episode is based on a “curse,” proving that the western view of India as a land of snake-charmers and elephants still flourishes.

But….mercifully the actors are straight up second generation Indian Americans, who speak and act like the Americans they are. Sendhil Ramamurthy does a fine job as the cursed lover and he gets able support from Madhur Jaffrey as the grandma and the Lisa Ray as his troubled sister-in-law-to-be. It’s all a bit silly but not disrespectful, and if Bollywood is what captures the American viewer’s imagination, then I’m glad to get a foot in the door.

Here’s the trailer and repeats of the episode run throughout the week. Check it out.

…sign this petition

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/abandon-the-elevated-highway-and-save-chennai-beaches

Urban planning has never been one of the Indian government’s strengths, but their latest attempt to build an elevated expressway along the Chennai coastline has found grassroots opposition from a coalition of local residents, activists, and fisher-folk. The latter, in particular, have been mobilized by the project’s cavalier plan to “relocate” them without proper attention to their basic needs. Also, as it happens in many government projects, many loopholes are being exploited to ignore the area’s environmental status.  More information on the proposed project and opposition efforts can be found here –

http://saveourbeach.wordpress.com/

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4356980.cms

And just a reminder of what’s at stake here.

The entire text of the letter is below.

We, the below-mentioned, are residents, non-resident Chennai-lovers and fisherfolk of Chennai, particularly from Central and South Chennai area such as Mylapore, Santhome, Adyar, Thiruvanmiyur and Kottivakkam.

We are deeply concerned about the Elevated Expressway project proposed by the Highways Department, Government of Tamilnadu, connecting Marina Beach to East Coast Road, near Kottivakkam. Disturbingly, the State Government is seeking to implement the project in two phases, with the first phase running from Marina Beach to 5th Avenue, Besant Nagar, and the second phase running from Besant Nagar to East Coast Road, near Kottivakkam.

We wish to place on record our total opposition to this project, and urge you to drop the project and consider less-disruptive alternatives that prioritise public transport and the safety of bicyclists and pedestrians, rather than yet another subsidy for car and private vehicle owners.

Our concerns are due to the following reasons:

a) Eviction of Coastal Communities and Disruption of Fishing Livelihoods: The proposed highway will cater primarily to the private car owning elite and will come up on the destroyed houses of fisherfolk and coastal poor. The road, in two phases, will run through several major coastal hamlets, including fishing villages such as Nocchikuppam, Nocchinagar, Dommingkuppam, Srinivasapuram, Pattinapakkam, Urur Kuppam, Olcott Kuppam, Odai Kuppam, Odaimanagar, Thiruvanmiyur Kuppam and Kottivakkam Kuppam. The Feasibility Report admits that the project will necessitate “removal of fisherman villages on a temporary  basis”  The project area admittedly has a population of 1.009 lakhs according to the Wilbur Smith Feasibility report. The Tamilnadu Government’s record of rehabilitation of urban oustees is pathetic. The current relocation sites- in Semmancheri, Kannagi Nagar are all in low-lying areas prone to flooding, and with no sewage, water, educational, transportation or medical infrastructure, and far away from the people’s places of work.

After construction of the highway, use of beach spaces for net-mending, shore-seining etc will be restricted.

b) Violation of Coastal Regulation Zone Notification, 1991: As a project with investment over Rs. 5 crores, this project will require Central Government clearance under Clause 3(v) of the Coastal Regulation Zone Notification, 1991. Further, no application for such clearance can be considered in the absence of an Environmental Impact Assessment, which will reveal the unmanageable nature of the environmental fall-outs of the project. The project has been conceived as an integrated project in two phases, and the environmental and social impacts should not be presented in two separate phases. Rather, the cumulative impact, after considering the existing pressures on the coastal system, and factoring in sea level rise, and extreme weather events, must be assessed and presented. CRZ clearance too should be sought in for the project in its entirety, rather than on a piecemeal basis. The Wilbur Smith Feasibility Report states that “The elevated alignment is proposed to run on wherever existing roads are available and also on the seashore and open land to minimize impact on congested fisherman settlements”

Ever since the project was conceived, there have been numerous attempts at constructing illegal roads on the beach. Currently, Zone 10 of the Corporation has made several aborted attempts at constructing a road on the seaward side of the existing habitation in Urur Kuppam. However, opposition from the Urur Kuppam fisher panchayat has kept this project in check.

The Government of Tamilnadu has shown a remarkable restraint in taking action against CRZ violations and violators. Even worse, public authorities such as Corporation of Chennai and the Public Works Department have frequently violated and continue to violate the CRZ Notification. Evidence of such violations can be found in the construction debris dumped on the beach area, on the southern bank of the Cooum Estuary, the ongoing dumping of construction debris at the Southern end of the Marina beach in preparation for the elevated expressway, the construction of concrete structures (a bathroom north of the swimming pool on Marina, and viewing galleries on Besant Nagar beach) on the beach without CRZ approval, and the wholescale landscaping and alteration of beach ecosystem within the remodeled and expanded Governor’s bungalow on Besant Nagar beach.

The Feasibility Report, drafted by Wilbur Smith Associates, repeatedly refers to Phase 1 of the project as a “Reconstruction of existing road with Elevated Corridor from Light House to Besant Nagar. . .reconstruction of existing bridge across river Adyar with “Signature bridge”

It refers to the Phase 2 of the project as “Construction of Elevated Corridor from Besant Nagar to East Coast Road (ECR) along the coast by making use of the existing road alignments.”

It is noteworthy that the “existing bridge” referred to in relation to Phase 1 is a dilapidated structure of a pedestrian bridge that was washed away in a major cyclone in the 1970s, and has never been reconstructed since. Replacing a broken, unused pedestrian bridge by a 6-lane expressway can in no way be construed as a mere reconstruction. Such mischievous wording is intended to facilitate CRZ clearance for a project that otherwise cannot be accorded such clearance.

Violating the CRZ Notification is not merely a legal infraction. Rather, as a yet another instance of inappropriate land use, the road project will add on to a long list of existing encroachments in the coastal area, and exacerbate the effects of extreme weather events that are anticipated to occur more frequently and with greater intensity in the future.

The Government of Tamilnadu has wrongly designated the entire coast of Chennai as CRZ 2. By notifying even ecosensitive areas including sandy beaches, Olive Ridley turtle nesting grounds and estuaries as CRZ 2, they are opening these areas for unregulated development. This despite the fact that the Ministry of Environment & Forests, through a letter to the Chief Secretary, Government of Tamilnadu, dated 27.9.1996, has issued clear instructions that “In addition to the information already available with the Government of Tamilnadu, all ecologically important and sensitive areas shall be demarcated on the basis of the following sources of information and be classified as CRZ 1”.The suggestive list mentioned by the Ministry in this letter include: mangroves, mud flats, breeding grounds for turtles, areas rich in genetic diversity, and areas of outstanding natural beauty.

The Wilbur Smith report admits that “the first phase of the proposed road project crosses the marine environmtal sensitive place of Adyar estuary. The estuary is also name demarcated as bird sanctuary by the Tamil Nadu Forest Department. Noise generation arising during the construction activity will drive the birds away and cause an ecological imbalance to the estuary and the fish population”.

c) Disruption of Olive Ridley Turtle Nesting Habitat: Marina, Besant Nagar, Thiruvanmiyur and Kottivakkam beaches are known nesting grounds for the Olive Ridley turtles. Ridley turtles are listed in Schedule 1 of the Wildlife Protection Act at par with the Indian tiger. Turtle hatchlings are extremely light sensitive, and strike out towards the moonlit-oceans in the absence of any background light. With a highway running through the beach, the lights are likely to fatally confuse Ridley hatchlings. In 2008-09, about 65 turtle nests, with roughly 100 eggs each, were recovered from the area between Neelangarai and Adyar Estuary.

The Wilbur Smith feasibility report states: “The proposed construction activity has significant impact on fauna. The proposed site is known for the breeding ground of Olive Ridley Turtle (Green Turtle). The construction activities will have major impact on the turtle breeding”.

d) Theosophical Society and Adyar Estuary: At one time, the Government of Tamilnadu had declared the Adyar Estuary as a bird sanctuary. Even now, despite the polluted nature of the waterway, the estuary and the densely wooded grounds of Theosophical Society continue to attract a variety of birds. The developments on the Northern shore of the Theosophical Society (MRC Nagar) and the increased urbanisation since 1989 have already taken a toll on the local bird bio-diversity, which remains impressive for an urban setting despite the beating it has taken. According to a comparative study done in 2009 by EMAI, a Chennai-based registered Trust engaged in environmental monitoring and action, at least 109 birds were spotted in the Theosophical Society and Adyar Estuary area in 2009. This is in contrast to 175 in 1989, before the constructions in MRC Nagar came up, and 124 in 2004. At least two species, listed in Schedule 1 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, have been sighted in the Theosophical Society grounds. The Black Baza (Aviceda leuphotes) and the White-bellied Sea Eagle  (Haliaeetus leucogaster) were regi;ar visitors to this area until 1989 and 2004 respectively. The fact that such species frequented this ecosystem underscores the ecological importance of the area, and indicates that the region should be revived to make it hospitable for these and other species.

The Theosophical Society is also a haven for birds, bats and other wildlife and is the last remaining lungspace within South Chennai. Constructing an elevated road along the Society’s edges is bound to disturb the carefully protected ecosystem within the Society grounds.

Indeed, one of the last surviving patches of tropical dense evergreen forests is to be found in the grounds of the Theosophical Society. The TS has a balance of gardens, orchards and forests, and indigenous and exotic tree species. The Saraca Indica [Asoka, not Nettilingam] as well as a graft from the Bodhi (Ficus Religiosa) tree under which the Buddha is said to have attained his enlightenment are to be found within the lands of the Theosophical Society. The Tropical Dense Evergreen Forests within the Society are different from the Guindy National Park in that the latter accommodates large herbivores like the Chital. Absent the grazing herbivore, the ground cover in the Society is intact, rich and abundant, displaying all three layers of vegetation typical of an evergreen forest. The freshwater ponds are home to terrapins, frogs, chameleons, snakes and insects. Jackals and mongoose too are residents of the Adyar-Besant Nagar area.

The edges of the estuary along the Theosophical Society also host the last remaining mangroves, and the state of the estuary calls for massive efforts to rehabilitate the water body, rather than activities that will degrade it further. Reviving the estuary would go a long way in improving fish population in the coastal waters, and improving the local economy of fisherfolk. The Wilbur Smith report too concludes that:”The estuary is also name (sic) demarcated as bird sanctary by the Tamilnadu Forest Department. Noise generation arising during construction activity will drive the birds away and cause an ecological imbalance to the estuary and the fish population.”

e) Disturbance to places of learning and cultural importance: The second phase of the proposed highway will run through or alongside important cultural centres like the Vailankani Shrine, Ashtalakshmi Temple and the Kalakshetra Foundation. The latter, declared ‘an institute of national importance’ by an Act of Parliament, promotes the arts, houses two schools and a unit for weaving and natural vegetable dyes, and is recognized worldwide for its integrity in upholding the highest values of India’s artistic traditions. Phase II of the project, if implemented as fleetingly outlined in the Wilbur Smith feasibility report, will run through the Central Government-owned Kalakshetra Foundation’s estate that stretches right up to the beach.

f) Destruction of one of the last remaining open spaces in Chennai: The beaches of Chennai are the last remaining open spaces available to Chennai-ites. The prospect of losing the beaches as recreational spaces will coalesce not just Chennai residents, but also tourists and other visitors who frequent these areas.

g) Construction debris and workers’ housing: Dumping of construction debris on the beach, even if temporarily, will alter coastal ecology and hydrology and exacerbate the effects of seasonal flooding. Construction of the expressway will also involve the labour of hundreds of workers. Their accommodation needs, and sanitation requirements will put a massive strain on an already stressed coastal environment. Filling in of low-lying areas for construction of culverts and embankments will permanently alter coastal topography and aggravate the effects of flooding on vulnerable coastal residents.

h) Violates Masterplan and National Urban Transport Policy: The Elevated Expressway project was not presented or even mentioned in the Draft Masterplan published for public consultation. As a result, this project has not been subject to any public scrutiny and does not find any legitimate mention in the the 2nd Masterplan. Further, there is no explanation as to how the project meets the stated objective of achieving a modal shift to 70:30 in favour of public transportation. Neither is there any explanation of how the project prioritises public transportation. In fact, the feasibility report says

i) Absence of examination of alternatives: The project fails to examine alternatives, including policy measures and planning interventions such as measures to discourage private vehicles, increasing public transportation capacity, staggering office and college/school hours etc.

For these reasons, we request that this project be abandoned and the State and Central Governments should begin a sincere search for long-term mass transportation alternatives in consultation with the public.

So Shakrukh Khan got detained at Newark, New Jersey airport for the simple fact of having a Muslim surname. An uncomplicated case of profiling, I suppose, though it must have made King Khan realize his reign is limited to his diaspora pond, where he is a very big fish indeed.

But to be fair to New Jersey authorities, it’s not just international icons they don’t recognize. A rookie cop in the town of Long Branch picked up a scruffy, suspicious looking old man, not realizing it was – Bob Dylan!

Matt Yglesias has a paragraph in a post today which sort of offers an explanation for why stuff like this happens

..the change in the media is part of a much broader shift in American society. Technological and economic change has just made authority weaker and tended to fragment perspectives…. It’s extremely easy for people to bury themselves in a subculture of their liking and not worry too much about the mainstream.

( Emphasis mine)

I just think it comes from people just not doing a whole lot of casual reading anymore. I grew up in a small town in northern India with no exposure to literature, art or western culture, but I picked up a lot of stuff by reading newspapers, magazines and popular fiction, at least enough to recognize names and places in countries I (then) never thought I would ever be visiting.

Today it’s so easy to find a subset of like-minded thinkers and opinions on the internet and television, it is just not necessary or gratifying enough to be exposed to views that challenge your own. Don’t like the NY Times op-eds? Just switch to the Wall Street Journal. Don’t agree with CNN? Just keep the TV tuned to Fox News. And with a lot of the big-city, broad-spectrum newspapers folding, that trend is likely to accelerate.

I’m guilty of echo-chambering too. One glance at my bookmarks will reveal a definite left-of-center predilection. But I still subscribe to the big newspaper in the Bay Area and I will read op-eds by the likes of Pat Buchanan and Victor Davis Hanson, even though they make me gag over breakfast. The browsing that a newspaper encourages leads me to bits of trivia, Hollywood news, weird stories from around the world that I would never pick up over the internet by myself.

There’s a shitstorm brewing in India over the SRK brouhaha but I suggest everybody take a deep breath and calm down. Just advocate that the NJ cops read, read, read!

If you were to watch a time-elapse video of our neighborhood, you would see the bay waters gradually receding, then trees sprouting into orchards, then homes slowly appearing, getting denser and denser, till you reached 2009, and an orderly but small development of homes occupied the area, located on streets named after birds.

Then the camera would pause on Tuesday, August 4th, 2009, to observe the unusual phenomenon of home-owners slowly trickling out of their sanctuaries, wending their way to a blocked off part of the street, bearing pyrex dishes and foil covered plates, kids trailing behind them on their bikes. Some of the food-bearing adults would be long-time owners, having proudly moved into the neighborhood when the homes were brand new. Other families would have just moved in last week, glad to get the chance to get to know the neighbors.

Little would the latter group know that we were all in the same boat. Whether we moved in last week, last year or in the last decade, we have all been prisoners of our comfortable homes, too busy to make new friendships, and too scared to let our kids bike around the neigborhood alone. We are connected to the whole world, and clueless about our next door neighbors.

So when one enterprising homeowner in our little community decided to put together a flier inviting us to the National Night Out, we decided it was time to put aside our virtual friends for a couple of hours and make some real ones.

National Night Out was started in 1984, as a crime prevention initiative. the idea was that if people knew and were friends with their neighbors, they would look out for them and alert them to any suspicious activity. More active communities could also set up “neighborhood watches” where members would take turns patrolling the area at night to reduce crime. The first year about 2.5 million people participated. By last year, that number had grown to 34.5 million.

We discovered how popular the event had become when we went to request the Fremont Police to come to our event. About 120 events had been planned in the city and the officers were stretched thin. While in previous pre-recession years the police would come bearing gifts for the kids and sage advice for the adults, this year we had to make do with stickers and police volunteers, but we were lucky to be able to spend a little time with at least one officer, who patiently heard our grievances and scared the kids into safer biking habits.

But the best part of the event was getting to know the people who live around us and seeing the diversity that has crept into the neighborhood. Name-tags were necessary, much to our shame, but we exchanged emails and phone numbers, determined to meet more often that once a year. Kids were astonished to discover that they had potential friends living just a few doors away; imagine the number of missed opportunities for playdates. The men, as usual, gravitated to each other to discuss politics and crime. The women clucked over the recipes and planned for doggy bags.

When the event wound down by nightfall, we picked up our dishes and foldable chairs and reluctantly started back home. Even now I am not sure I can match the names to the faces or the faces to the the houses, but at least, when I see a friendly face on my evening walks or bike rides, I know I will wave and get a wave back. I know that in case of an emergency, I can knock on any door and be assured of help. That’s what National Night Out was created for and it meets its goal admirably.

Let’s see; the economy is in the tank, rising health care costs are pushing Americans out of the system at the rate of a couple of million a year, greenhouse emissions are stranding polar bears and causing hurricanes and several crazy dictators over the world are itching to get their fingers close to a nuclear red button, and the most pressing issue of the day is?

You guessed it – it’s whether the President of the United States is a citizen of the country or not. Rabid protesters are taking to the streets in fly-over states, loony senators are submitting resolutions solely designed to keep the issue alive, and the media is salivating over a topic that needs no preparation and makes for easy ratings.

Is there any merit to the grievances of the wingnut margin? No, but there isn’t supposed to be any. If you think that this is about a piece of paper,  then think again. This is pure racism, now given the legitimacy of a non-racial excuse. The movement in the grassroots( dried up though the grass may be) is of people who just can’t believe that a black family inhabits the White House and all the pent up anger and frustration is being directed in a, crazy as it sounds, politically correct fashion.

That is why, despite the Hawaiian government’s repeated assertion ( the governor is a Republican, by the way) that the President was born when and where he says he did, the conspiracy theorists refuse to give up. If all it took was proof to satisfy them, this issue would have died out a long time ago. But no, the staying power of this meme is a testament to the underlying race issues that have not surprisingly, been brought to the fore by the unexpected election of an African American( and boy, is he African) president.

In a sense, these birthers( now with the meta name of “birfers” ) are doing us a favor. The latent racism that pervaded American society has been given a safe outlet. These racists will not disappear, but at least we know who they are now. And for those people sitting on the fence, the whole birth certificate issue gives them a chance to analyze their feelings. Are they on the side of the birthers? if not, maybe they are a step towards believing in the equality of races, towards tolerance and acceptance. Maybe there’s still some hope for them, while the lunatic fringe, ably assisted by media pimps, hurtle towards a future that is only filled with a multicultural tapestry of disappointment.

UPDATE(just for giggles): Courtesy Balloon Juice commenters, some explanations as to why bithers are going ballistic over Barack.

Just Some Fuckhead

Duh, have you ever seen a thin and athletic Hawaiian?

Scruffy McSnufflepuss

He claims he’s from Hawaii, a “state” whose existence I have every reason to doubt. I’ve never been there. The photographs supposedly taken there make it look like Heaven, another place whose existence there is no reason to believe in. Photographs are easily doctored. And yes, many people say they’ve been to Hawaii, and my brother claims he lives there; but many people are liars, especially my brother.

Until I’ve seen Hawaii with my own eyes, I see no reason why I should accept that there is such a place. In fact, having never seen Obama with my own eyes, why should I believe in his existence, either? “Obama,” like the fictional archipelago of Hawaii, is- very likely- a plot by Muslim extremists to destroy America. In fact, the evidence of that is a lot stronger than the evidence for Obama and this fantasy Hawaii/Heaven place.

Via Balloon Juice –

Boyfriend with Health Benefits

I see you checkin’ me
Out on the dance floor
I know you want me boy, but you got something I want more
See, these are troubled times
A bad economy
I got some health issues, and medicine, well it ain’t free

I don’t care about your diamond rings
I don’t need none of those fancy things
If you really wanna be my man
Boy, you gotta put me on your health care plan!

Let’s start a family
And you can be the boss
Just prove to me that you’ve got Aetna, Kaiser, or Blue Cross
I can’t afford a doctor
I need you can’t you see
When I get sick all I can do is go to WebMD
Well you don’t gotta kiss me
And I don’t need no hugs
Just gotta get a discount when I need to get prescription drugs!
I need a flu shot baby
I got a tricky knee
And I ain’t seen a dentist since September of two-thousand-three

I don’t care about your diamond rings
I don’t need none of those fancy things
If you really wanna be my man
Just let me get all up in your health-care plan

Wanna be my dependent, girl? / What you got? / I’m gonna break it down…

I hear you say you love me
I wanna know fo’ sho’
You gotta prove it ‘fore I put you on my PPO
‘Cuz my co-pays are modest
And girl you know that’s true
My pre-existing condition is I’m in love wit’ you
My coverage is extensive
They pin my policy
You want some Lasik, baby, I got full optometry
Shi-at-su massage—all day for you’n’me
Don’t sweat the payments, girl, it’s covered ‘cuz it’s therapy

Aaa-oooh! How much is your deductible / How much is your deductible / How much…
Want some acupuncture baby? How ‘bout podiatry? I’ll get you braces, girl…

After a whole year of virtuous denouncement, I fell for my husband’s Kindle barely 2 weeks after gifting it to him for his birthday. I had admired a friend’s older version for its clarity and cool looks, but just didn’t see the value in a 300-dollar book when I could get one for free at the local library.

But then I got the brilliant idea of taking it to the gym with me and I was hooked. I had been assiduously working towards financing some chiropractor or orthopedic surgeon’s new boat, holding one hand on the spine of my book while working out on the elliptical trainer. The awkward posture would only be relieved at the very center of the book, when the even balance made the page stay still, and that too only in a hardcover version. Paperbacks were a real pain, both literally and figuratively, as I teetered on the machine while turning the pages.

The other unexpected benefit I found was that at a slightly bigger than normal font, I could only see about a third to a half of a normal page at one time, which meant that the likelihood of my reading the entire page became much higher. Like many bookworms, I have a bad speedreading habit and can finish thrillers in mere hours by the simple expedient of skipping all the descriptive stuff. Not only was I doing a disservice to the fine writers( yes, thriller writers are humans too) but as a writer and editor myself, I was missing out on structure and characterization in a race to get to the bottom of the mystery. Now I find myself more appreciative of the finer nuances in a good book and more selective of what I chose to spend my $9.99 on.

Which brings me to my biggest crib with the elegant Kindle..it does not allow for rentals. My average library checkout list numbers in the late 20s, so there is no way the Kindle can be my sole source of reading material. What it panders to is impulse purchasing instincts, but the free public library can rest assured of my support and late fees for the foreseeable future, unless Amazon mends its ways and allows for rentals at a nominal fee.

And there is the price, of course. One Kindle itself was a shock to the recession-battered wallet( honey, you don’t know just how much you mean to me), 2 are unthinkable.

Watched the fireworks in San Francisco bay with friends. Our vantage point could not have been better – the Ghirardelli building, now partly converted into co-owned apartments. But even as I watched the spectacular display, a thought niggled; it is a testament to the environmental consciousness of the average Californian that there was an element of dismay in my joy at the smoke and pollution caused by the mini explosions.

“Green energy”, “clean tech” and “carbon footprint” are the buzzwords of this millenium. Pretty soon we will not have to wonder how much our presence and our actions are harming the earth – we will know, down to the last millical of energy and microgram of carbon. Labels on foodstuffs at the supermarket will tell us how much energy we are consuming and how our purchase is impacting global energy usage. At home, sensors will tell us how our temperature and lighting choices stack up in the race to conserve. And that vague feeling of guilt we carry around today will harden to real, measurable chagrin.

But the truth is that all our efforts to “Switch off appliances when not in use” and “Water lawn in the evenings” are not going to make any significant dents in global energy use.  The drops we save from fixing leaks are about the same drops in the vast ocean of energy consumption, propelled by developing countries who are indignant about sudden energy piety on the part of erstwhile guzzlers like the U.S.

So what the whole point? Well, speaking for myself, I find that when I have to set the thermostat to 75 degrees in summer and 68 in winter and be uncomfortable throughout the year, I am much more vigilant about who is representing me in the global discussion on energy conservation. If I’m suffering, then the rest of the world jolly well suffer too. If I have to painstakingly install drip irrigation on my plants to conserve water, then the people in Sacramento and Washington had better share my values and my angst about my under-watered plants.

My guilt about personal energy profligacy translates to strong values about local and national energy practices. I educate myself on the environmental credentials of the people I vote for and never pass up an opportunity to pressure them to pass laws that affect the issue.  I vote for new initiatives based on their impact on the earth. And that, I find, is the silver lining in the cloud of green guilt that shadows me.

As for the fireworks, I read that perchlorate-free ones that cause less pollution are on the way. I’ll be the first in line next year.

Picture by dcjohn under Creative Commons license

Have been neglectful of Water, No Ice lately. It’s not surprising if you take into account the fact that I’ve started my new job as Editor of India Currents. But it is not the lack of time. I suspect that a little bit of efficiency in my workday would probably free up time for this community blog.

No, the distressing conclusion I’ve reached is that I just don’t have the mental space to handle two competing responsibilities at the same time. Call it bandwidth, if you like, though I detest the word. Both are creative pursuits and both are satisfying, so it’s a bit of a disappointment to realize that I can’t do it all, or at least do it all well.

And I suspect, therein lies the generation gap. Unlike the youngsters of today, who are at ease listening to music while chatting with their friends over the phone while tweeting, I get distracted even listening to  NPR while driving-to the point that I become a road hazard, only saved by overtime effort on the part of my guardian angels  or those of my near-victims. I cannot write if music I like is being played, since my attention gets diverted and I start humming along. I cannot read a book if the TV is on, one ear cocks to the sound.

I wonder if technology and the ease of its use has wrought evolutionary changes in the span of just one generation.  How else to explain the utter nonchalance of the multitasking teenager, whose earphones have evolved from listening devices to fashion accessories to body part in the blink of an eye? Kids today also appear to be born with a symbiotic relationship to their electronics, intuiting their use without instruction. I have seen 3-year-olds master a Nintendo handheld without any help from their (clueless) parents.

Dinosaurs of my generation will probably become extinct due to our sheer inefficiency,  as hiring managers start asking prospective employees not how many things they know but how many gadgets they can juggle at one time.  While we’re blundering around trying to decipher the arcana of those twinkling lights and dazzling screens, the next generation will have out-transacted and  out-networked us, all while conducting multiple conversations and receiving multiple stimuli.

Meanwhile, this dinosaur has an unexpected free day tomorrow which shall be used excusively for WNI. I’m not giving up the fight so easily.:)

Pic by Thom Cochrane under Creative Commons license.